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2005 LX Can the just the idler pulley be replaced?

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shopdog

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
The idler pulley started squeaking the other day. The serpentine belt seems to be offset from the pulley about a quarter of belt's width.
Van has about 150k on it.

Can I replace just the idler pulley? It has what looks to be a Torx head bolt. Most of the YouTube videos I've found show the whole tensioner assembly being replaced, so I wasn't sure.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
The pulley or the bearing is not sold as a separate part. However, if you remove the Torx bolt and take the pulley to an auto shop you may be able to find a matching one. It not uncommon that the original manufacturer sells te same pulley and bearing separately you just need to find the right type.
If you do please post it back here so others can also take advantage of it.
 
#3 ·
shopdog, I don't know anybody who has done this, but I've replaced a few tensioners in my time, and I always wondered about replacing just that bearing. You'd have to press it out, measure the O.D. and I.D. exactly (as well as its width), and try to find one from an online bearing supplier.

At a minimum, an ABEC 5 bearing, I'd imagine, and only a reputable brand (like Koyo, Naichi, NTN, Trinton, ***, SKF, NSK...must not sourced from red china).

My take? I think I would replace the entire tensioner assembly with an OEM part. I once accidentally installed an NPW water pump that looked exactly like an OEM Honda part during a timing belt job, and it started leaking a lot after only 50,000 miles of service. I really dislike doing work twice. OEM Honda parts for these applications is the way to go IMHO.

OF
 
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#4 ·
a tensioner assembly from NAPA is $80 (less if you can catch one of their bucket sales) - I've had one on our van (after the OEM one cracked) for over 70k miles now, and it's going like a champ.
 
#5 ·
shopdog said:
The idler pulley started squeaking the other day. The serpentine belt seems to be offset from the pulley about a quarter of belt's width.
Van has about 150k on it.

Can I replace just the idler pulley? It has what looks to be a Torx head bolt. Most of the YouTube videos I've found show the whole tensioner assembly being replaced, so I wasn't sure.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Febest sells the replacement pulley set for $19 / shipping included. You can find them on ebay or amazon under 0387-YF4-KIT . But the pulleys are generic no marked units and not the "France" oem pulleys like in the pictures they use for the listing. The torx bit size is T50.

But if your belt is riding out of true alignment and pulleys squeaking, chances are you need the harmonic balancer replaced.
We had a several of these vans in our fleet and we kept pulley bearings lubricated with synthetic lubricant and almost never had to replace them, some of them had over 300k miles.
It's often not visible but the outer ring of the harmonic balancer gets detached and makes the serpentine belt ride out of the alignment.
 
#7 ·
They have dust seals but they are not airtight. Make a pool over the seal area and spin the bearing, the lubricant seeps in the bearing. Always use synthetic lubricant that won't dry. Can spray lubricant from Mystery oil was great, but they no longer sell those.
 
#8 ·
shopdog, if you go to the trouble to remove it, just get a new one. OEM or OEM quality (I forgot about NAPA...I'm a repeat customer there). Generally, Honda uses KOYO for their bearings in these applications, and they are very tightly sealed, and pretty small, usually skateboard wheel-sized.

Also, checking the harmonic balancer (on the crankshaft) is a great idea. We have had two forum members (AFAIK) have the belt drive portion (outer ring) part company from the rubber ring placed between it and the mass balance bolted to the crankshaft end.

OF
 
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Discussion starter · #9 ·
I installed a new tensioner assembly this weekend. Still got some squeaking and the belt started moving off the idler pulley. Thought it might be the belt at that point so installed a new one today. It took much more effort to slide the new belt on than the old one. After starting it, the belt immediately jumped half way off the power steering pulley and part of the idler pulley. Put it back on right and it immediately did the same thing.

I'm not sure if the is a factor, but since it's in the neighborhood it could be relevant. Last year there was a split in the high pressure power steering hose. We didn't drive the van for a year until we could have the hose replaced.
After getting the hose replaced, the van was doing good for a week until the squeaking started. Stopped driving it until working on it this weekend.

Also checked the alignment of the pulleys. It's hard to tell, but it seems like the power steering pulley is more to the driver's side than the rest of the pulleys. Also checked the harmonic balancer and it doesn't appear to be loose.

Could this be an issue with the power steering pump\pulley?

Thanks for the replies and advice.
 
#10 ·
Make sure the tensioner is bolted down properly - it can hang as you are bolting it down, look like it is on there right, then do what you are describing with the belt walking out on the pulley. (been there, done that) if you are doing it by feel, it's not impossible to get it messed up.

If there's no play on the power steering pump, it's unlikely that's causing an issue (if you have a yardstick or something like that, you can check the alignment to be sure)
 
#11 ·
shopdog said:
I installed a new tensioner assembly this weekend. Still got some squeaking and the belt started moving off the idler pulley. Thought it might be the belt at that point so installed a new one today. It took much more effort to slide the new belt on than the old one. After starting it, the belt immediately jumped half way off the power steering pulley and part of the idler pulley. Put it back on right and it immediately did the same thing.

I'm not sure if the is a factor, but since it's in the neighborhood it could be relevant. Last year there was a split in the high pressure power steering hose. We didn't drive the van for a year until we could have the hose replaced.
After getting the hose replaced, the van was doing good for a week until the squeaking started. Stopped driving it until working on it this weekend.

Also checked the alignment of the pulleys. It's hard to tell, but it seems like the power steering pulley is more to the driver's side than the rest of the pulleys. Also checked the harmonic balancer and it doesn't appear to be loose.

Could this be an issue with the power steering pump\pulley?

Thanks for the replies and advice.
Click to expand...
It's very likely for the power steering pump to fail for other issues like noise, leak or intermittent pressure than the shaft shifting. The symptom you described is the exact symptom of the harmonic balancer separation. In many cases the outer part of the harmonic balancer shifts but won't feel loose to touch and feel until it's removed and inspected.

Also the belt tensioner for the LX models are different from 31170r70A01 31170-r70-A01 , [FONT=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]31170RKB005 31170-rkb-005 and others. Autozone and other auto parts retailers do offer replacement pulleys these days, it would be best to remove the one that needs to be replaced to match physical characteristics at the store to be sure before purchasing.

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